


Still Recruiting

by astudyinweasley



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Adventure, Angst, Book 7: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Canon Compliant, Dumbledore's Army, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-05 23:19:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15873762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/astudyinweasley/pseuds/astudyinweasley
Summary: Collection of stories following the exploits of the Dumbledore's Army members - in and out of Hogwarts - during Harry's year on the run.





	1. Ginny

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm really excited to be posting this collection. I absolutely adore thinking about what the others were going through during the Horcrux hunt and the relationships that could have developed between the characters.
> 
> Quite a few of the stories in this collection have been published individually on my FF.net account. However, I feel like they fit together really well so I am putting them together in (roughly) chronological order and creating some new chapters so that there is a thread to the story - they all interlink.
> 
> Each chapter will feature a different character, which I will add to the tags as they appear. Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This part was originally posted on FF.net in May 2018.

**Sidelined**

The clock in the Weasleys' kitchen had become redundant. For a long time now, the nine brassy hands representing the family members had been permanently fixed at  _mortal peril_  and recently, they'd even given up on moving towards  _travelling_. Maybe even travelling was perilous now.

Despite this, Ginny Weasley couldn't stop glancing at it. It had become a reflex at times like this – she was willing for something to move, to put an end to this agony. Even when she remembered and looked down at her ordinary watch, it seemed like time was in slow motion. Watching the second hand crawl, she felt a sickening mixture of emotions, one that she was becoming more and more accustomed to: anger mixed with paralysing fear.

"Ginny dear, you don't look well," her mother said fretfully, resting a hand on her daughter's forehead.

Ginny batted it away. "You should have let me go."

"Sweetheart, it's dangerous. You're underage."

"So is Harry!" Ginny exploded. "And Ron's barely of age. What difference does it make?"

"Harry doesn't have a choice! And Ron… can make his own decisions now," Mrs Weasley said through gritted teeth. "If you don't think I'm going to keep you here as long as I can, you're mad."

"But what am I supposed to do here? Sit here, staring at the clock, wondering whether my family and my…" Ginny paused; Harry wasn't her boyfriend anymore. "…my –  _friend_  are ever going to come back?"

"What do you think I had to do all the way through the first war, looking after your brothers whilst your father was off doing goodness knows what?" her mother replied, softly this time. She ran a hand through Ginny's glossy hair; this time, Ginny didn't fight her off, but despite herself leaned closer into her mother's embrace.

"What if something happens to him?" Ginny whispered. "What if they catch him? What if he  _dies?_ "

With a knowing look on her face, Mrs Weasley continued to stroke Ginny's hair, softly  _shhh_ ing her. "Harry's more than a friend, isn't he?"

"Yes. No. I don't know," Ginny said hurriedly. "We broke up. He didn't want to put me in danger. But that doesn't change how I feel about him."

"Harry is going to be fine," Mrs Weasley said firmly, taking Ginny by the waist and sitting her up so that she could make eye contact. "They all are. They don't know we're moving him today; he's still underage. Having the seven Harrys is just a precaution."

"Yeah, I know," Ginny sighed, old enough now to understand that her mother was equally trying to convince herself with these words. "They'll be fine."

But as time continued to pass by and Portkey after Portkey turned up unaccompanied, Ginny felt more and more sick to her stomach. Waiting in agony at the sideline, unable to do anything to help – Ginny was sure that this was what her personal hell would feel like. What had happened?

* * *

"Harry, will you come in here a moment?"

Her breath caught in her throat as he entered the room. This was the first time they'd been alone together since that awful night – since they'd broken up, actually – and her heart raced from the proximity, and from knowing what she was about to do.  _You broke up_ _,_  a voice in her head reminded her.  _What if he's not interested?_

Ignoring the voice, she took a deep breath. "Happy seventeenth."

"Yeah… thanks." His eyes were wandering. He pointed towards the window. "Nice view."

Ginny mentally kicked herself; he definitely wasn't interested. Why didn't she just buy him a fancy broom care kit or something? But she had to go with it now. "I couldn't think what to get you."

"You didn't have to get me anything," Harry said, irritatingly noble as always.

"I didn't know what would be useful. Nothing too big, because you wouldn't be able to take it with you." She kicked herself again; she was babbling. Not an attractive quality, but once she'd started, she couldn't stop. "So then I thought, I'd like you to have something to remember me by, you know, if you meet some Veela when you're off doing whatever you're doing." She swallowed a lump in her throat, resisting the urge to ask what he actually  _was_  doing.

"I think dating opportunities are going to be pretty thin on the ground, to be honest."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Ginny's lips fell into an effortless smile. "There's the silver lining I've been looking for," she said breathlessly, and she didn't even know who initiated it, but then his lips were finally on hers. Now she finally had it, the chance to really show him how she felt, to show him that whatever happened, whatever he was going off to do, she was  _his,_ and no-one else's. She took it all in for what she knew could be the final time: his musky smell, the taste of his lips, the tickle of his stubble on her chin, the way her heart raced when his hands roamed around her body and his fingers tangled in her hair. This was the most passionate she had ever felt – her stomach turned over and her heart sped up even more as his he reached under her t-shirt… she began to edge them towards the bed… this was what she wanted…

They heard the door and sprang apart; it was all over as quickly as it had begun.

"Oh. Sorry."

Those two words provoked more anger than she had ever felt towards her youngest brother.

"Ron!" Hermione cried from behind him, clearly sharing Ginny's indignance.

Ginny was absolutely fuming, but she didn't know what she could say that would undo what had just happened. She forced herself to keep the fury from her voice. "Well, happy birthday anyway, Harry."

She turned to face the wall; the lump in her throat was back, and she didn't want to look any of them in the eyes. She tried not to think of what had been taken away from her, of what might have happened if they hadn't been interrupted.

There was a pregnant pause; Harry muttered, "See you later," and he was gone.

Without even bothering to close the door, Ginny collapsed onto her bed, and the tears were finally allowed to fall. She felt like a fool. She prided herself on being a strong woman; she had never cried over a boy before. No, she wasn't crying because she'd broken up with Harry – she was crying because, of all the boys in the world, she had fallen in love with the Chosen One, whatever that meant. To her, it simply meant that she didn't know if he would live or die.

Her other break-ups hadn't been like this. With Michael, it was simply because they were bored of each other. With Dean, it had ended with the last of many raging arguments. But she and Harry hadn't argued, and they certainly weren't bored of each other:  _the last five minutes proved that,_  she thought bitterly.

This was all because of Voldemort. Despite her mother, Ginny vowed that she would do whatever tiny part she could to get rid of him – for Harry, for herself, and for everyone in the Wizarding World that loved someone.

* * *

Ginny had never seen the Hogwarts Express so subdued. Rather than excitedly catching up on each other's summer news and adventures, most people were silent in their compartments, reflecting on the awful events of the holidays. Even Draco Malfoy seemed to have wiped the smirk off his face.

She took her normal seat in a compartment with Neville, Seamus and Luna. The former two looked as dejected as anyone else, although Neville gave Ginny's hand a comforting squeeze as she sat down beside him. She was glad to have the support of somebody who seemed to understand what she was going through. Luna, on the other hand, looked like she could be on her way to any ordinary year at Hogwarts, absorbed in the Quibbler as she sported her Spectrespecs and a dreamy expression. Ginny almost laughed out loud – it comforted her to know that even Voldemort couldn't make Luna miserable.

After some slightly tense small talk, the compartment sat in silence, so all Ginny could do was dread what awaited her at the other end of the train journey. What would Hogwarts be like without Dumbledore? Surely McGonagall would be taking over as Headmistress. Or would they appoint somebody awful like Umbridge? Would Snape show his face after the events of last summer?

Suddenly, the brakes of the Hogwarts Express screeched to a halt. Ginny looked at the people either side of her in alarm – they surely hadn't arrived yet. The only time this had happened before was in her second year, when the Dementors came onto the train in search of Sirius. Was it Dementors again? Or something worse?

The carriage door opened and in came what could only be a group of Death Eaters – robed in black, leering at the students as they passed through. Ginny's chest tightened. It became clear that they were searching for someone, and it didn't take a genius to work out who.

"Hey, losers!" Neville cried out, and Ginny felt herself swell with pride. How much he had grown in confidence since she first met him. "He's not here."

The leader of the group leered at Neville. Ginny grabbed her friend's hand in solidarity.

After pausing and seemingly deciding that Neville wasn't worth their time, the man turned on his heel. The others followed.

"That was brave, Neville," Luna said, before looking back down at her copy of the Quibbler, unfazed.

"So these are the kind of people we'll have to deal with this year, then," Seamus muttered.

"I wish they knew how worthless they are compared to him," Neville said quietly, his hands curling into fists.

"We'd better show them, then," said Ginny, more determined than ever, and even Luna looked up after hearing her tone. "I want to fight. What do you guys say to getting the old DA gang back together?"


	2. Fred

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next two chapters go backwards a little and fit in between the scenes of the last chapter. So not technically chronological but I think this is the best order!
> 
> An earlier version of this chapter was published as a one-shot on FF.net with the title 'Emotion' (June 2012). Enjoy!

** Half a Person **

The spinning receded and Fred and his father crashed to the ground, the Portkey landing messily beside them. Panting as he removed his now-redundant glasses, Fred tried to process what had happened. How had the Death Eaters known to be ready for them? Who had betrayed them? Relieved as he was that Harry was safe, his heart raced at the enormity of the risk they had all taken in impersonating Harry Potter.

He had no more time to dwell on it as he looked round at the faces surrounding him - Hermione, Kingsley, Remus, Hagrid. Immediately, he knew that something was wrong. The atmosphere was nervous, and Fred could feel everyone's eyes on him.

He dealt with it in the only way he knew: by making a joke. "What's wrong with all of  _you?_ You'd think Christmas had been cancelled or something," he said, almost managing to keep his voice from shaking. "George not back yet?" Fred, of all people, couldn't let his fear show. He was meant to be the one to keep morale up, to lighten the atmosphere.

Nobody answered, uneasy expressions on their faces, and suddenly Fred felt sick. George couldn't possibly... no...

Fred noticed Hermione bite her lip, and he rounded on her - she couldn't lie to save her life.

"Hermione, where is George?" Fred demanded, looking her right in the eye, and she flinched, looking round at the others. She had to answer now.

"I... Fred, he's... he's injured," Hermione whispered. "Inside."

It was as if the whole world was suddenly in slow motion. People were talking, but Fred didn't take in anything they were saying.  _Injured_... what did that mean? It sounded so much more serious than  _hurt_. What had happened?  _At least it means alive_ , he tried to think, but somehow that didn't help.  _Alive doesn't necessarily mean okay_. He didn't know he was doing it, but he was running; his legs were carrying him inside of their own accord. He vaguely registered people telling him to wait, Kingsley trying to interrogate his father, trying to get him to prove his identity. Fred didn't need to prove who he was; his actions were enough to convince anyone that it was his twin who was inside, maybe clinging to his life.

He entered the house and kept running.

"Fred -" Ginny started to say, but he ignored her and ran straight past, before realising that he had no idea where he was going.

He span around so that he was facing Ginny again. "Where is he?" he asked hoarsely.

Ginny sighed and wordlessly pointed towards the living room. Fred's body, still acting of its own accord, followed her finger towards the familiar door. He was no longer running - he wasn't sure he wanted to go in there without being prepared for what he was about to see. But it was as if a magnetic force was drawing him towards his twin and this, rather than any rational thought, was governing his body.

Fred could feel his father behind him as he reached his shaking hand out to the door handle. He could feel a supportive hand on his back, and he didn't know whose it was, but it felt nice. He took a deep breath and opened the door.

His stomach lurched and it was as if his whole world had been turned upside-down. His mouth went dry as he took in the gaping, bloody hole where George's ear should have been. No jokes came to mind this time. Jokes couldn't make this okay.

Emotion balled up inside him and ate at him like fire. It was an odd combination of emotion, nothing he had ever felt before, and he couldn't quite put a name to it. He felt... he didn't know what it was, but he just  _felt_ , when he saw his twin, his equal, the other half of him, lying there, unconscious, helpless. It was like he was half a person.

One thing he definitely knew he felt was anger. Anger at the people who did this, the people who would continue to do this to other people without hesitation until this war was over.  _We have to win_ , Fred thought as he looked at his broken twin, the trauma threatening to break  _him_ , and that was the moment when Fred Weasley decided he would do anything,  _anything_  he could to help end this war, no matter what it did to him.


	3. Hermione

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally published on FF.net in October 2012.
> 
> The next chapter will be an original one, so may take slightly longer to upload! As always, comments are much appreciated. :)

**Confessions**

"GINNY!" Molly Weasley's voice penetrated up through the floor, and Hermione, already fully dressed and reading a book on counter-curses, laughed as Ginny groaned and rolled over in bed.

"Do you think we can really pretend we didn't hear that?" Ginny asked, a disgruntled expression on her face.

Hermione shrugged. "I suppose you could just about have slept through it."

"Good. Merlin, I am  _not_  looking forward to this. I hate shopping with Mum. No doubt she'll want to buy me the rattiest set of robes in existence," Ginny muttered grumpily. "And it'll be even worse than usual without you lot there."

"Trust me, I wish I was going," Hermione said. She did. She wished that she was going back to school as normal, that she hadn't had to erase her parents' memories, that Voldemort wasn't out there killing and torturing and gradually taking over the Wizarding world. But wishing wasn't going to do anything about it.

Ginny snorted. "Really? I'd swap any day. I'm so sick of being stuck in school and not being able to do anything useful in the world. I'd much rather go off and fight evil with Harry," she said longingly.

"You make it sound so glamorous," Hermione laughed. "It won't be like that at all."

"I know," Ginny sighed. "I shouldn't complain. But I just can't help wishing it didn't matter that it would draw attention to my family, or that I still have the Trace on me. Because... I'd be with him," she said in a small voice.

There was a sad silence between the two girls, broken only by Mrs Weasley's continuing calls, and Hermione was overwhelmed by sympathy for Ginny. The poor girl, hopelessly in love with the Boy Who Lived since the age of eleven, was being left behind yet again, just as it had started to look like she was going to get her happy ending. At least Hermione would have Ron where she could look out for him...

Ginny heaved herself up out of bed. "Just getting dressed, Mum!" she yelled, walking over to her wardrobe on the other side of the room and grabbing some clothes.

Hermione sighed. "Ginny?" she asked tentatively.

"Mm?"

"Being in love... what does it feel like?"

Ginny smiled knowingly, a little sadness in her eyes. "Well I don't know if it's the same for everyone, but for me... I get distracted from everyday tasks just thinking about him. When he's not around, I imagine myself having conversations with him, what he'd do and say. I imagine spending the rest of my life with him, despite the fact that we're not even together anymore. And then I get so infuriated by it that I wonder why I feel like this at all. But I do, and I can't help it."

Hermione nodded; these were all-too-familiar feelings to her. "I'm sorry, Ginny," she said quietly.

Ginny shrugged. "Don't be. It's what I signed up for, dating the Chosen One."

"But it's still not fair," Hermione insisted.

"Life's not fair." There was a pause, and Ginny started to get dressed into her Muggle jeans and t-shirt. "You should tell Ron how you feel, by the way," she said, grinning mischievously.

Hermione noted the abrupt change of subject; Ginny was obviously more upset about all of this than she was willing to let on. Hermione decided to humour her, however. "Hey, I never said it was Ron I was talking about!"

"You didn't, but I'm not blind," Ginny told her, smirking. "I've seen the way you look at him."

"Am I really that obvious?" Hermione asked in exasperation.

"Yes. So tell him, because he's a guy and he needs things spelt out for him."

_She makes it sound so easy,_ Hermione thought. "Okay, I like him," she confessed. "But I... I don't know how to tell him." She felt foolish; Ginny had never needed help with this stuff.

"It doesn't matter. Just say whatever comes into your head. Then even if he doesn't feel the same - which, for the record, I'm pretty certain he does - at least you'll know, and you'll be able to move on. What have you got to lose?"

It was a rhetorical question, but Hermione had actually given it a lot of thought over the past few months. "Everything," she whispered. "We're in a time of war, Ginny. Either one of us could  _die_. I could lose him, just when I've found him."

"Which is exactly why you should make the most of the time you have," Ginny told said urgently. "Whatever happens to Harry, I've always got the memories of those few months I had with him before Dumbledore died. Those are special."

Hermione sighed; Ginny had a point. "I... I suppose I'll talk to him when I get the chance, then."

"Good." Ginny looked as if she was about to say something else, but couldn't find the words. Then, "When are you... leaving?"

"I don't know," Hermione told her truthfully. "Harry seems to want to get away as quickly as possible, so it'll probably be pretty soon after the wedding."

"GINEVRA!" Molly's screech interrupted them, and Ginny made a face: she was obviously in trouble if her mother was addressing her by her full name.

"Alright, keep your hair on, Mum!" she shouted. "I'm coming!" She put down her hairbrush and got up, starting to leave, but she lingered in the doorway. She turned back to Hermione. "I... I suppose there's no point in me asking where you're going again?"

Hermione shook her head apologetically. As much as she wanted to tell Ginny about the Horcruxes, she knew that Harry would never forgive her if she did. "It's not because we don't trust you, Ginny, because we do. It's just... Dumbledore said not to tell  _anyone_. Besides, you'll be in a school with Death Eaters - they'll be sure to target you."

Ginny nodded. "Fair enough. But just... look after them, will you?"

"I will," Hermione promised. "I'll do everything I can to keep them safe."

"Thanks. I mean, I knew you would anyway, but it's nice to hear you say it," Ginny told her. She stood awkwardly by the entrance to her room for a few more seconds before her mother called yet again. "I'll see you later," she said hastily, closing the door, and Hermione heard her almost sprint down the stairs.

Sighing, Hermione attempted to go back to her book, but for once in her life she found that she couldn't concentrate. Ginny's words had left her head reeling. She knew that she'd had feelings for Ron for years, but now they were building and the thought that either of them could die before she had the chance to let him know was starting to become unbearable.

She needed to tell him soon.


End file.
